Saturday, July 7, 2012

Wimbledon 2012 Women's Final Preview

Agnieszka Radwanska (3) vs. Serena Williams (6)
No matter what happens in the final, Wimbledon 2012 will finally mark the arrival of Agnieszka Radwanska on the big stage. The most refreshing aspect of Radwanska's rise this year has been the style in which she plays. While a lot of recent grand slam champions have based their game on power from the baseline, Radwanska loves using angles and deft touches to defeat her opponents. She has been extremely impressive at Wimbledon this year.

It's extremely unfortunate that all the build-up to this final has focused on Radwanska's health, as she is suffering from a respiratory illness. However, the harsh truth is that even in peak condition, a Radwanska victory was always against the odds.

Serena Williams seems to be playing on another planet right now. Perhaps more accurately, her serve seems to belong in a different universe compared to her opponents. In her semi-final victory against Victoria Azarenka, Serena served 24 aces. To put that in context, Andy Murray and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga served 21 aces between them in 4 sets of tennis! It's an incredibly remarkable stat, an advantage that in the women's game is just too good for any rival to cope with.

Serena was in inspired form against two very good opponents in the quarters and semis. Azarenka and Kvitova gave everything they had and yet came up short. Radwanska has a bright future, but she is nowhere near the level of Azarenka and Kvitova at this moment in time.

Radwanska is also bound to be a bit nervous considering it is her first grand slam final appearance, compared to Serena who has so much experience of playing in a final. With her serve firing on all cylinders, better movement on grass and all-round power, Serena simply has too much in her arsenal to defeat Radwanska and seal her fifth Wimbledon title in straight sets.